SUVANNABHUMI (수완나부미)

Korea Institute for ASEAN Studies (부산외대 아세안연구원)
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The Perception and Production of Vietnamese Tones by Japanese, Lao and Taiwanese Second Language Speakers

  • Dao, Muc Dich (University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Vietnam National University) ;
  • Anh, Thu T. Nguyen (Mountain Creek)
  • Received : 2021.06.07
  • Accepted : 2022.01.15
  • Published : 2022.01.31
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Abstract

This study investigates the production and perception of Vietnamese tones by Japanese, Lao, and Taiwanese second language (L2) learners [n=30], comparing their performance in an Imitation task to that of Identification and Read-Aloud tasks. The results show that the Imitation task is generally easier for L2 speakers than the Identification and Read-Aloud tasks, suggesting that imitation is performed without some of the skills required by the other two tasks. It is also found that Lao and Taiwanese speakers outperform Japanese speakers, suggesting that prior experience with one tone language facilitates the acquisition of tone in another language. The result on speakers' tonal range show that L2 leaners have significantly narrower tonal F0 range than control Vietnamese speakers [n=11]. The results of error pattern analysis and tonal transcription also suggest that non-modal voice (glottal stop and creakiness) and contour tones (bidirectional fall-rise) are more difficult for L2 learners than modal voice tones (e.g., unidirectional contours: rising, falling, and level).

Keywords

Acknowledgement

We would like to thank the subjects for their voluntary participation in the experiment and the anonymous reviewers for their constructive comments. We also thank the editor for English corrections.

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